


the things I've almost told you

by the24thkey writes (the24thkey)



Series: lezgeddit verse [2]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, F/F, Found Family, JB is a disaster lesbian, Jinyoung pretends to be a distinguished lesbian, Miscommunication, Rule 63, but first they need to get their shit together, with their powers combined they could be functional lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 09:49:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20722232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the24thkey/pseuds/the24thkey%20writes
Summary: Disaster Lesbians 2: The Reckoningor,It’s just kind of awkward to approach the topic of how they should define their relationship when Jinyoung is busy eating her out on the living room floor because they couldn’t even make it to her bed. So no one can blame JB for never bringing it up, really. It’s not her fault that Jinyoung is so...persuasive.





	the things I've almost told you

**Author's Note:**

> I really didn't mean to set up a sequel when I wrote lezgeddit, but then I just had to include a joke about JB's hair. And here we are now, a year and 16k later. I suppose it's possible to read this without having read lezgeddit, but it's a direct continuation, so I'd recommend at least searching it for JB's name for the two times or so she's mentioned.
> 
> This fic would not exist without idella, Julija, Rene and bubbles. Your support and exitement meant the world to me and I love you all so, so much. <3
> 
> I've seen the name Mari used a couple of times, most notably in [this fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928551), which I adore and hope everyone has read. And let's just pretend Youngjae is a unisex name like Jinyoung, shall we?

JB gets a weird text on Monday.

The entire day is weird, really. She doesn't hear her alarm, so the only reason she doesn't oversleep completely is that Jackson's girlfriend stayed over and checked in on her before she left for her own commute.

JB loves Mari; she's great. It's an eternal mystery how Jackson — Jackson, of all people — got her to date him.

Still, JB has to rush to make it to work, chugging down a mug of too-hot coffee and shoving a beanie over her unwashed hair, feeling immensely grateful that her company doesn't insist on a regular dress code.

She stumbles into the office 20 minutes late because she missed her train, so of course the first thing she has to deal with is BamBam smirking at her from behind the reception desk. And then, when she slinks into the studio, Brianna turns around in her seat to smile at JB and says, "Good morning!"

In itself, nothing about that is strange. Brianna usually arrives before her, and of course they greet each other. They're co-workers. Friends, even. And while Brianna can be a bit reserved, it's not like she never smiles or anything. Today, though? Today she's practically beaming.

JB squints at her from the doorway, suspicious. "Morning," she mumbles, making her way to her desk. "Did you have a good weekend?"

Brianna's cheerful, "The best!" startles JB so much she almost drops her messenger bag.

"Oh. That's nice," she says, bewildered, and goes to turn on her computer and plug in her headphones.

She is not awake enough to deal with this right now.

BamBam drags her out for lunch, mostly so he can make fun of her for being late. JB's the one who got him this part-time job in the first place, so you'd think he'd be nicer to her. But he is and always has been an ungrateful brat. She's used to it by now.

She tunes out BamBam's whining about his classes to shoot Wonpil a text about the Brianna situation, but all she gets back is _Jae-noona had a date last night, be gentle_. She sends him a row of question marks in return, because now everything makes even less sense.

JB knows that Brianna is hopelessly in love with her best friend slash roommate — just because she has the emotional intelligence of a rock, as Jackson is fond of saying, it doesn’t mean she’s blind. There’s a specific pattern JB has gotten used to over the years she has worked in such close proximity to Brianna, which means she usually knows when Jae starts dating someone or breaks off a relationship even when no one mentions it to her. JB can tell just by the level of angst in Brianna’s lyrics.

Brianna was so cheerful this morning, though. What the hell is going on?

Her phone buzzes again while she’s still thinking about this, so she unlocks it expecting a further explanation from Wonpil. What she gets instead is a message from an unknown number that stops her in her tracks.

_Friday 7PM at the new Napoli in Hongdae, don't be late._

JB stares at the text, confused.

"Noona?" BamBam asks, clearly annoyed, "Are you even listening to me?"

"Ah," JB says, "I think someone messaged me by mistake, hold on."

_Sorry, looks like you have the wrong number_, she texts back, but doesn’t even have time to lock her phone before the reply pops up on screen.

_No, JB-ssi, this message was very much intended for you._

JB freezes.

“What’s wrong?” BamBam asks, leaning so far over the table that he’s all but lying on it, grabbing her hand and squinting at the phone screen. JB doesn’t even bother protesting, there’s really no use to it.

“Well, that’s creepy,” BamBam says, clearly intrigued, “Did you get involved in some shady business, noona? Maybe someone’s gonna try and blackmail you. Or they could just murder you when you show up, I guess.”

JB rolls her eyes and jerks her hand back, sudden enough that BamBam almost falls into his lunch face first.

“Yeah, I’m sure a fancy Italian place would be any murderer’s first choice of location. Stop watching so many horror movies with Yugyeom, they’re not good for your imagination.”

Her phone vibrates then, so she shushes BamBam before he can launch into his usual speech about how there is nothing in this world that is cuter than his boyfriend pretending not to be scared when they watch horror movies.

_If Jae-unnie gave me the wrong number I’m going to strangle her_

“Oh,” JB says, her paranoia instantly replaced with annoyance. What the fuck is Jae doing, giving her number to strangers?

_No, I suppose you have the right one. This is JB. Park Jae gave you my number? Tall, blue hair, obnoxious?_

_The very one. So, Friday?_

“What’s going on?” BamBam whines, once again trying to look at her phone screen, but JB locks it and puts it back in her pocket.

“Nothing,” she says, ignoring his complaints and going back to her food. Whatever this is, she’ll deal with it later.

The first mystery of the day gets solved the moment JB steps back into the studio after lunch to find Brianna sitting on her desk with Jae standing between her knees. It takes JB a long second to realize that yes, they’re making out, and yes, they didn’t hear her come in, so she should definitely announce her presence.

She’s kind of at a loss for words, though, so she just says, “Uh, hey guys.”

Brianna lets out some sort of muffled yelp and Jae jumps back, bumping into the desk chair and almost falling over it. “JB!” she exclaims, too loud in the small room.

There’s a moment where JB just stares at the two of them and they stare back at her before Jae seems to gather herself and continues, “Uhm, Bri forgot her lunch, so…”

She points to a bag that’s been pushed to the far side of the desk. JB nods politely, still not quite sure what to say. What she just witnessed shouldn’t come as a surprise, because she knows these two have been into each other for longer than she’s known them. It’s just that no one quite believed they’d get their shit together without external help. Whatever the story here is, JB is looking forward to hearing it.

There’s a couple beats of awkward silence before Brianna hides her face in her hands.

“Look, JB,” she says, wincing, “I’m sorry, this is all kind of new. Could you—” She fidgets, red up to her ears, and JB suppresses the grin she can feel forming on her lips.

“Could you keep it on the down low?” Jae finishes, direct as always. “We don’t know if anyone has money riding on this, but they probably do, and we haven’t quite figured out how to profit from it yet.”

JB tilts her head this way and that, considering. “In that case,” she says slowly, "I may have a business proposition for you."

Jae's answering smile is all teeth.

It's not until JB is on her way home that she remembers that, in all the excitement, she forgot to ask Jae about the incident earlier that day. She clicks her tongue in annoyance and digs out her phone, ignoring a whole bunch of messages from Jackson to pull up Jae's contact.

_Did you give my number to someone_

_Oh shit!!! Jinyoung texted you???? She's awesome, u can thank me later_

Before JB can reply to that, another message pops up right away: _Get some!!!!!_ followed by a string of emojis JB is pretty sure she doesn't want to decipher.

She grimaces, but goes back to her chat log with the mystery texter. Jinyoung, apparently. JB kind of left her on read earlier, which probably didn’t give off the best impression. But in JB’s defence, Jinyoung’s approach was rather abrupt. Who even does that, just texting a stranger with a time and place and expecting them to fall in line?

JB bites her lip, thumb hovering over her phone screen. She has half a mind to say no, but something stops her. It’s been a long time since she went out with someone, and it’s not like she’s minded — she’s been busy with work, and her social life is comfortably established. But there’s a curiosity coursing through her, an urge to stop being responsible for once and just go with the flow, and before she knows it, she’s hitting send.

_Yes._

She stares at the screen for another dazed couple of seconds and startles in surprise when there’s an immediate answer.

_Took you long enough._

JB raises her eyebrows, huffing out an involuntary laugh only to check her surroundings in embarrassment. None of her fellow commuters seem to have noticed, though. She hunches in on herself a bit, slinking down in her seat as she waits, eyeing the blinking dots indicating that someone is busy typing. This Jinyoung person seems kind of rude, but somehow JB can’t bring herself to be offended, her notorious bad temper be damned. There’s something exciting about this: talking to someone she doesn’t know; has never even seen before.

Besides, Jae would never give out her friends’ numbers to someone she didn’t think was trustworthy. She may be kind of chaotic, but JB trusts her people instincts.

_I’ve reserved a table. Meet me in front of the restaurant. Until then._

_Alright, see you there._

JB waits another moment to see if Jinyoung will say anything else, but the only new message that comes in is from Jackson, asking what kind of take-out she wants to get for dinner. She throws in her vote before she finally puts her phone down, leaning her head against the window and staring into the darkness outside, a small smile working its way onto her face.

Come Friday night, JB is kind of regretting her decision to be spontaneous for once in her life, shifting from one leg to the other as she waits on the busy sidewalk, trying not to get in people’s way.

What was she thinking, agreeing to this? She doesn’t even know what Jinyoung looks like; how are they supposed to find each other?

It didn’t even take a day for her to cave and ask Jae for more details, but Jae had just laughed and assured her that Jinyoung was smoking hot, refusing to elaborate on anything else. Brianna hadn’t been of any use either, shrugging helplessly as she explained that she’d never met Jinyoung.

JB kind of wishes she’d backed out after all, but Jackson had been so excited for her that he probably would have dragged her out here himself if she’d even so much as thought about staying home. She frowns and shoves her hands deeper into her pockets as she remembers the way he’d started fake sobbing in happiness when she mentioned having a blind date. What’s it to him, anyway?

She’s thrown out of her internal grumbling by a soft voice saying, “JB-ssi?” right next to her.

JB jumps, turning around with wide eyes to see a woman looking up at her expectantly. She’s a bit smaller than JB herself, with long, black hair falling over her shoulders in soft waves, and JB has never seen her before, but she could keep looking at her forever.

“Uh,” JB says slowly, eyes flitting around like there could possibly be another person called JB standing behind her. “Yes?”

The woman makes a small, pleased noise, nodding her head, and then she says, “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Park Jinyoung.”

“Oh,” JB says, and then, “Oh!” once again as she actually processes the information. She bows slightly, completely caught off guard.

“Jinyoung-ssi. How did you— I— how did you know it was me?”

Jinyoung raises one delicate eyebrow and says, “Jae-unnie showed me a picture of you. You’re quite recognizable.”

JB flushes, even as she knows that Jinyoung probably just means that her short hair and piercings make her stand out.

“Shall we head inside?” Jinyoung says, looking a bit cold despite her long coat.

JB nods quickly and leads the way, holding the door open for her. The restaurant is spacious and warm, an uncomfortable shift in temperature. Soft music and conversation drift over to the entrance where Jinyoung informs the staff of their reservation

JB sighs as she shrugs out of her parka, already starting to sweat, but her breath catches in her throat as Jinyoung does the same.

The dress Jinyoung is wearing has long sleeves and a high collar that would almost make it seem modest, if not for the way the fabric clings to every part of her body, doing wonders for the shape of her ass. Which might just be the most amazing thing JB has ever seen. Maybe she should keep looking at it, just to make sure.

"Are you checking me out?"

JB startles so hard she almost knocks over the coat stand, her hand still raised to hang up her jacket. "No?" she says, unconvincingly, jerking her head up so she's looking at Jinyoung's face like a regular, non-creepy person. Dear god. It's been all of five minutes and she's already ruined everything.

If anything though, Jinyoung looks amused. "Mmh. I'll take it as a compliment. Now stop gaping and come along. "

With that, she winks at JB over her shoulder and walks away, a swing to her hips that definitely wasn't there a moment ago.

JB is going to die.

The thought repeats itself over and over again like a terrible mantra all the way to their table. As they sit down, JB nervously smooths down her blazer, trying not to mess with the way BamBam rolled up the sleeves. She’s pretty sure she couldn’t recreate it if she tried.

She’s glad BamBam came over to tell her what not to wear, even though it had meant listening to him go on about how she and Jackson have basically the exact same clothes and how _it’s breaking my heart, noona, really, how many muscle tees does one person really need_.

A waiter stops by to give them their menus and Jinyoung thanks him absent-mindedly, looking through the wine selection and not even raising her eyes when she asks, “What would you like to drink?”

“Whatever you’d like is fine with me,” JB answers, somewhat at a loss. She’s not really a wine person. She’s not really a fancy Western-style restaurant person, either.

Jinyoung looks perfectly at ease, however, and she fits into their surroundings like she belongs there. JB busies herself with her menu before she gets caught staring again.

It doesn’t take long to place their order, and then they’re left alone to look at each other over the tasteful flower arrangement in the middle of their small table. Jinyoung has her chin resting on one hand, eyeing JB up and down, and it’s almost enough to fluster her again.

JB composes herself though, determined not to spend this entire evening fumbling and off balance. She can be smooth if she wants to be. She’s got this.

“So, Jinyoung-ssi,” she starts, “How do you know Jae? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her mention you before.”

“Oh, she wouldn’t have,” Jinyoung says blithely. “We only just met last week. A mutual friend set us up on a date.”

JB can’t help but laugh at that, incredulous. “And how did that go for you?” she asks.

The moment the words leave her mouth she wonders if her tone was too mocking, but before she can backpedal, Jinyoung laughs as well, her eyes crinkling up a bit.

“Considering we established her pathetic crush on her best friend early on, I didn’t set myself up for disappointment. Not that she’s my type, anyway.”

“Is that so,” JB says, tilting her head. She’s starting to let go of her unease, more intrigued now than nervous, and the look she gives Jinyoung is calculating. In turn, Jinyoung’s eyes never leave hers even as she takes a sip from her glass.

“Yes, well,” Jinyoung says, one finger trailing over her bottom lip as if to wipe away a trace of wine. “I did get your number out of it, so I’d call it a success.”

JB’s heart gives a traitorous thump at that, but Jinyoung changes the topic before she can give it any more thought.

“Also unnie confessed to her girl right after our date, so I think it’s only fair to say it was thanks to me and my good influence.”

JB snorts, Jinyoung smirks, and just like that, the tension breaks.

By the time their food arrives they’re already talking comfortably. Jinyoung is effortlessly charming in a way that cuts right through the usual first date awkwardness JB is used to. The time they spend going over the outlines of their lives flies by fast, and soon they’re deep in conversation.

Jinyoung has a sly sense of humor, too, unexpectedly cutting with a dry delivery that has JB laughing louder than she probably should be, considering their surroundings. It’s a bit unusual for her, to be perfectly honest. JB can admit to herself, even if no one else, that she maybe cares a bit too much about what other people think of her, and she’s been told she comes off as somewhat stand-offish at first. But Jinyoung puts her at ease.

When they make it to dessert — one serving of tartufo and two spoons — Jinyoung is telling her the story of how her boss kept receiving all her mail because they have the same name.

“It was cleared up pretty quickly because all the work correspondence was obviously not meant for him, but the very first week after I got the job, my mother sent me a congratulatory gift to the company address. And do you think he’d stop to think about why some random person from Changwon would just send him rice cakes for no reason before he ate them? Because he didn’t.”

She punctuates the end of her sentence by viciously stabbing at a decorative raspberry. JB muffles a laugh with a spoonful of ice cream.

“You said you’ve already been with them for a year now? And you’re still holding such a strong grudge, huh.” She smirks. “Impressive.”

Jinyoung raises her chin and says, very firmly, “I never forget.”

The vaguely disdainful look on Jinyoung’s face should probably not be turning her on, JB thinks. She clears her throat, avoiding Jinyoung’s eyes.

They change the topic then, but something tells JB that Jinyoung hasn’t missed the effect she has on her. There’s an edge to Jinyoung’s smile, amusement to her tone, and a hand trailing absent-mindedly over JB’s own where it rests on the table.

She can’t keep herself from staring at Jinyoung’s mouth. It’s kind of a problem.

Finally, after another tense couple of minutes Jinyoung says, “Well then. Want to get out of here?” voice low, and her intentions more than obvious.

“Yeah,” JB says immediately, like it’s being punched out of her.

It’s a slight consolation then, when she sees Jinyoung’s expression break for just a moment, letting through a pleased flush and a small, genuine smile that shows that maybe, possibly, Jinyoung is just as caught up in this feeling of excitement as JB is.

They crash into Jinyoung's apartment, almost toppling a side table in their haste and unwillingness to let go of each other. Jinyoung's quiet, breathless laughter rings sweet in JB's ears, and she tries to catch it with her lips.

Their shoes are kicked off and their coats are left discarded in a heap on the floor, and JB doesn't waste any more time before she pushes Jinyoung up against the wall and slides her hands under the tight fabric of Jinyoung's dress, grabbing at the back of her thighs through the thin pair of stockings covering her skin.

"You're gonna rip them," Jinyoung murmurs, sounding more amused than anything, looping her arms around JB’s neck to pull her even closer.

“I’ll buy you new ones,” JB says, mouthing at the side of Jinyoung’s neck, dragging her teeth over sensitive skin to feel Jinyoung shiver against her.

They fit together beautifully, and even though they’ve barely even done anything yet, JB’s already burning up with the heat of it. She almost gets stuck while taking off her blazer because she’s in such a hurry to get her hands back on Jinyoung, shaking it off with a frustrated noise at the back of her throat that has Jinyoung grinning at her, gorgeous and a little wild.

“In a hurry?” she asks, but the way she’s grinding into her, seconds away from climbing JB like a goddamn tree, shows that she’s just as desperate.

JB doesn’t even bother with an answer, dragging down the maddeningly high collar of Jinyoung’s dress so she can suck a mark into the skin over her collarbone. She's probably dragging the knit out of shape like this, but it's in her way, so she doesn't care.

"Take it off," she says, impatiently trying to push the dress further up over Jinyoung's hips.

"Alright, alright, let's take this elsewhere," Jinyoung says, but she breaks off into a gasp when JB takes the opportunity to grab two hands full of her ass, digging her fingers into the flesh and kneading.

"Been wanting to do that all night," JB confesses with a wink and a smirk, drawing a laugh from Jinyoung even as she pushes JB away by her shoulders.

"Come on," she says, fingers closing around JB's wrist to drag her, stumbling, through the darkness of the apartment.

JB almost runs into the doorframe but catches herself just in time, leaning against it for a second and letting her eyes adjust to the dim light Jinyoung turns on the moment they enter the bedroom. And then her breath catches in her throat at the sight of Jinyoung taking off her dress in one smooth movement, letting it drop to the ground as she stretches her arms over her head, definitely aware of the way she looks.

JB can't even make fun of her for posing, too busy taking in the way Jinyoung's long hair falls over her shoulders, the way her skin looks against the black lace of her bra and panties. For a short, delirious moment, JB tries to remember if she herself has ever owned a matching pair of underwear in her life, but all unnecessary trains of thought get abandoned when Jinyoung starts rolling her stockings down her legs and quirks a challenging eyebrow. "Why are you still all the way over there?"

"Fuck," JB says, eloquent as ever, and all but rips of her shirt, discarding it along with her pants before she clears the room in two long strides and pushes Jinyoung onto the bed.

Jinyoung drags her along with a firm grip on her biceps and they go down in a messy tangle of limbs, crashing into a wet, sloppy kiss. JB moans, muffled, when Jinyoung licks into her mouth.

"Fuck," she repeats, with feeling, as she breaks away blissful minutes later, heart racing, chest heaving and heat pulsing between her legs.

"Yeah," Jinyoung gets out in between shuddering breaths, and she's looking at JB like she wants to devour her, or wants to be devoured, or all of the above.

JB pushes her firmly into the bed and moves down her body with kisses and roaming hands, cupping Jinyoung's breasts over her bra and squeezing, harsh flicks of her fingers against Jinyoung's nipples through the lace getting rewarded with a high, drawn-out moan.

"God, you're so pretty," JB murmurs into the skin just above Jinyoung's hip bone as she moves further down, dragging her nails lightly over Jinyoung's side and enjoying the way it makes her squirm.

She spreads Jinyoung's legs apart so she can kneel between them and Jinyoung lets herself be pushed around without protest, all soft noises and bitten lips, her hands catching on whatever part of JB she can reach.

For a moment JB contemplates taking her time, drawing it out, but the sight of Jinyoung laid out so beautifully before her breaks through all pretenses of self-restraint. She drags her palms over the smooth skin of Jinyoung's thighs only to press one hand in between, eyes flicking up to Jinyoung's face to catch how it contorts and changes with pleasure.

Jinyoung is soaking wet already, the fabric of her underwear drenched and slick under JB's hand. She slides her fingers over it with barely any pressure, fascinated by the breathy moans escaping Jinyoung's mouth at the barest contact.

It takes a few more moments of idle exploration before Jinyoung startles her by letting out a frustrated groan, pushing herself up on her elbows and leveling JB with a glare that strikes her to her core in ways she hadn't quite expected. _Oh_.

"Will you get on with it," Jinyoung bites out, even as she's struggling to catch her breath. Her pupils are blown and her hips are bucking up into JB's hand like they have a will of their own, and yet she looks so commanding that JB feels herself go light-headed.

"As you wish," she says, absolutely entranced, and helps Jinyoung pull off her underwear. She lets her fingers spread over wet heat and swollen flesh, and then she settles down between Jinyoung's legs and gets to work.

Jinyoung is vocal, delightfully so, a string of gasps and sighs and curses and JB's name, over and over again. The pitch and the level of her voice rise and fall with the strokes of JB's tongue, loud moans trading off with encouraging whimpers as her fingers pull at JB's hair, hard and almost painful, and JB is happy to let herself be moved to Jinyoung's liking.

Her own hips are grinding down into the sheets uselessly, searching for friction she can't get without rearranging her limbs, but right now she's too busy focusing on Jinyoung's pleasure to chase her own. She can wait.

Jinyoung almost screams when JB moves her full, unrelenting attention to her clit, and then definitely screams when JB pushes two fingers inside her without preamble, fascinated by the way Jinyoung clenches around them, her thighs shaking and her feet sliding over the sheets.

JB only has to pump her fingers once, twice, and then Jinyoung comes with a drawn out whine and her back arching off the bed.

JB rides out the waves of it before she comes up for air, wiping her mouth. She can't help but grin at the sight of Jinyoung, sweaty and decidedly fucked out below her, and Jinyoung laughs when she catches sight of it.

"No need to be so smug about it," Jinyoung tells her off, but it's half-hearted at best, undermined by the unsteadiness of her voice as she tries to catch her breath.

JB doesn't even bother to reply. Anything she'd wanted to say would have died in her throat anyway when Jinyoung grabs her, rolls them over, and straddles JB with a triumphant glint in her eyes.

"My turn," she says, and JB shudders at the sound of it.

Something tells her she's in for a long night.

Saturday morning comes with sunlight on her face, unfamiliar sheets under her hands, and a rather more familiar ache in her body. JB blinks the sleep out of her eyes, taking a moment to remember where she is. A slow smile spreads over her face as she pushes herself up, stretching and yawning as she looks around the bedroom. She’s alone, but the door has been left open just a bit, and she can hear faint sounds from outside.

Time to find her clothes and Jinyoung, in that order.

JB hadn't really been paying a lot of attention to Jinyoung's apartment last night, but now she takes it in, slowly, leisurely, as she makes her way to the kitchen. It's a small place, but it's clean and cozy. The living room is mostly taken up by bookshelves, big floor to ceiling ones, filled to the brim, and even then JB can see a couple neat stacks of books over in the corner, next to a worn armchair.

Some of them are still wrapped up in plastic, like Jinyoung only just bought them and hasn't gotten around to reading them yet. In contrast, some of the books on the shelf that JB is idly running her fingers along seem old and well loved. She tilts her head to read the titles, surprised by how many of them appear to be in English.

JB would consider herself decently proficient in English — it comes in useful at work sometimes, and she's surrounded by a lot of bilingual people — but the last time she read a book in a foreign language was back in high school. Though it's not like she gets around to reading a lot of Korean books nowadays, either.

She pulls out a book at random, a paperback copy of The Little Prince, but Jinyoung's voice startles her so much that she almost drops it.

“There’s soup and some leftovers, if you’d like,” Jinyoung says, head poking out from the doorway JB assumes leads into the kitchen. “And coffee. Unless you want tea instead?”

“Coffee sounds good,” she calls over her shoulder, trying to fit the book back into place on the shelf before she ambles over into the other room.

The kitchen is barely big enough for the table set up next to the window, already covered in a modest amount of side dishes. It’s more than JB is used to — she usually just grabs something from the station on her way to work, or throws together some fried rice on her days off.

“Smells good,” she mumbles, taking a seat when Jinyoung points her to it.

“It’s nothing much,” Jinyoung says when she joins her a moment later, and then they settle into a comfortable silence, the radio providing constant, unobtrusive background noise. The food is delicious, and Jinyoung lets her have most of the kimchi when JB hums in appreciation at the first bite, shrugging off compliments even as she looks pleased to be receiving them.

Jinyoung makes quick work of the dishes once they’re done eating, JB leaning against the counter with a dish towel in hand, observing her quietly. It’s all very domestic in ways that make her unbearably nostalgic for days spent at her grandma’s house, years ago. She could get used to this.

JB doesn’t think she’s ever clicked with anyone as quickly and surely as she has with Jinyoung. It’s a giddy, wonderful feeling, even as she’s a bit taken aback at the intensity of it all. A tiny, ridiculous part of her wonders if this is what love at first sight — or, well, first date — feels like. Her face heats at the thought of it, but she dismisses it quickly.

“What are you staring at?” Jinyoung asks as she sets the last cups aside to dry, amusement clear in her voice.

“You,” JB answers honestly, grinning when Jinyoung rolls her eyes and hits JB’s shoulder with no force behind it.

JB laughs and ducks away, feeling warm and sated and happy. She bites her lip, trying to figure out how to put her thoughts and emotions into words to share with Jinyoung. Is one date too early to tell her she really, really likes her? That she hasn’t felt like that in a long time? That she kind of wants to keep waking up to Jinyoung like this?

Before she can even open her mouth again, however, Jinyoung trails a finger over the back of her hand where it rests on the counter, eyes hooded and tone salacious as she says, “I had fun last night. We should do that again sometime.”

JB freezes.

It would appear that she has misread this situation quite badly.

“Oh,” is the only thing she can get out of her mouth then, stuttering a bit. “Oh, yeah, definitely.”

It ends up sounding more like a question than a statement and she clears her throat hastily, trying to put on a cool front.

“I had a good time, too. Thank you,” she says, and feels like an idiot.

Jinyoung laughs and steps closer to her, one hand coming up to play with the hair standing up at JB’s neck, still tousled from sleep.

“I feel like you did all the heavy lifting, so I should be thanking you,” she says appreciatively, and JB can feel her breath coming short, memories rearing their head. “But I’d be happy to make it up to you now.”

For a moment, JB is tempted. She’s really tempted, because Jinyoung is so pretty and so close and she was so good for her last night. But there’s a bitter taste at the back of her throat that she can’t attribute to her one cup of coffee, and her heart feels...not broken, god, she’s not that pathetic. But maybe there’s a bit of a twinge.

“I, uh. I would really like that, trust me. But I should be heading out,” JB says, trying to at least sound apologetic, tugging at the sleeves of her shirt. They’re all wrinkled now. She really wishes she had a change of clothes.

“Oh,” Jinyoung says, stepping back and turning away to pour herself another cup of coffee. “Of course, you must be busy. Don’t let me keep you.”

“Right,” JB says awkwardly, “I have stuff to do. Thanks for breakfast.”

When Jinyoung faces her again she’s smiling pleasantly, stepping in close for a second to press a short kiss against JB’s cheek.

“Have a good day, unnie. See you soon.”

JB lied. She doesn’t actually have plans and Jackson is out because he went to see his friend Namjoo, so when she returns to the empty apartment all she does is clean herself up in the bathroom and change into some more comfortable clothes before she collapses onto the couch. At least Nora deigns to grace JB with her presence, curling up on her lap and purring like she wants to rival the sound of the variety show JB turned on only to ignore it completely.

She sighs, loud and drawn-out with no one around to hear her. She doesn’t know what’s wrong with her sometimes.

JB doesn’t consider herself a particularly romantic person. Before, she’s always approached dating with a measured, realistic attitude. It takes time to get to know someone, and it takes even more time to build attraction into a lasting relationship.

Jinyoung is funny and engaging and really kind of ridiculously pretty. That’s not even to mention the sex, which was honestly just mind-blowing. JB’s jaw aches with a sort of phantom pain as she recalls the sight of Jinyoung spread out in front of her, under her, the soft skin of her thighs under JB’s hands—

JB groans loudly, burying her face in her hands. The sudden movement causes Nora to jump off her lap with a sound that lets JB know exactly how displeased she is to have been disturbed.

JB just flops over onto her side and curls up into a ball of self-pity. No one’s around to judge her, anyway.

She stares after Nora, who stalks out of the room with her tail raised high in the air, and sighs miserably. Jinyoung probably doesn’t even want to see her again with how awkward their good-bye was. And what would she do if Jinyoung did ask to meet again? Agree, obviously; she knows her own weaknesses and Jinyoung hits a solid 80% of them.

But should she bring it up? That she would maybe, possibly, like to get to know Jinyoung in a more serious manner? That she’s pretty sure she wants Jinyoung to be her girlfriend?

“What am I, in fucking middle school?” she scoffs, increasingly annoyed with herself.

The sound of her phone vibrating against the coffee table almost makes her fall off the couch in her haste to grab it, cursing under her breath.

She chides herself for being ridiculous. What is she even so jumpy for? But then she sees the screen lit up with a message from Jinyoung and can’t help the thrill of nervous anticipation.

_When can I see you again?_

JB bites her lip, but no matter how long she drags it out, the answer is going to stay the same.

_Whenever you want._

“So,” Youngjae says, a glint in her eyes that has JB bracing for impact, “Jackson-oppa said you’ve been seeing someone.”

JB just sighs, because of course he did. And it’s not like he was supposed to keep it a secret or anything, so she can’t really be annoyed with him. It’s just— Well. Youngjae looks so eager and excited, hanging onto JB where she’s linked their arms together, and this is exactly why she hesitated to tell Youngjae herself.

“Soooo?” Youngjae prompts again, drawing it out obnoxiously.

“Yeah,” JB says, “I guess I am.”

Youngjae lets out some sort of deafening squeeing noise right next to her ear, jumping in place just a bit.

“I’m so happy for you!” she says.

“Thank you,” JB mutters, wincing at the volume and frantically looking around for a distraction. Luckily for her she finds it in the form of a food truck. “Hey, wanna get egg waffles?”

“Are you paying?” Youngjae asks immediately, a sly look on her face, and JB just sighs. It’s not like she can deny Youngjae anything, really.

“Sure,” she says, tugging on Youngjae’s ponytail to make her squawk. “Unnie will pay.”

JB got into the habit of looking after Youngjae when she was her junior in choir at their fine arts high school, and never really stopped. Their personalities matched well, and even though they only had one year together, they stayed close. At some point, JB stopped counting how many times a week Youngjae spent the night at her place, and became used to setting out an extra place for breakfast. Youngjae’s family, basically. Sometimes JB thinks her grandma might love Youngjae more than she loves JB, but if so she really can’t blame her.

The Jinyoung topic is very kindly dropped while they eat their waffles, leaning against each other and catching up. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other, JB busy with album production for a new rookie idol group and Youngjae even busier with finishing her degree and job interviews. JB has missed them talking like this, and she relaxes as she listens to stories about hard-ass professors and the evils of capitalism, the latest adventures of Coco the dog and all the times Youngjae has walked in on Yugyeom and BamBam doing dubious things this week alone.

JB would consider living with those two a nightmare. Youngjae calls it ‘exciting’.

The gloves come off once their waffles are demolished to the very last crumb, but for all the extra time she was given, JB still isn’t sure how to handle it.

“Alright, spill,” Youngjae says, wiping her fingers on a napkin before discarding it. “Who is she? Where did you meet?”

“She’s an acquaintance of my co-worker’s girlfriend. That's how she got my number.”

Keeping her answers short won’t save her - Youngjae can be very determined when she wants something, and JB knows she won’t get out of this. So she might as well give in.

“Park Jinyoung. That’s her name. We went out for dinner a while back and hit it off, I guess? We’ve gone out a couple times since then, when we can make time.”

She hesitates to even call it that, but there’s not really a better word or it — at least not one she could say to Youngjae without dying of mortification. They went to get dinner a handful of times (Korean this time, because it took Jinyoung all of two hours of acquaintance to figure out JB doesn’t particularly like Western food), but mostly Jinyoung calls her over to hang out at her apartment.

Which JB isn’t complaining about, because she enjoys spending time with Jinyoung, and going out is expensive anyway. But sometimes it feels more like a booty-call than anything.

It’s just kind of awkward to approach the topic of how they should define their relationship when Jinyoung is busy eating her out on the living room floor because they couldn’t even make it to her bed. So no one can blame JB for never bringing it up, really. It’s not her fault that Jinyoung is so...persuasive.

“I’m really happy for you,” Youngjae says, so genuine that JB has to hold back a wince. “When are you going to introduce us?”

At that JB does pull a face, but thankfully Youngjae interprets it in a way that gets them back on familiar ground.

“Hey,” she scolds her playfully, poking JB in the side. “Don’t give me that look. You’re not embarrassed of us, are you?”

“Of you? Never,” JB says immediately. “Of Jackson and the kids? Very much so.”

Youngjae lets out an obnoxiously loud laugh at that, drawing the attention of a few startled passers-by, and JB just rolls her eyes, exasperated but fond.

“Well, she’s going to meet us eventually, if you’re going to keep her around,” Youngjae continues. “I want to get to know her.”

With a hint of bitterness, JB finds herself thinking, _me, too_.

Of course she’s gotten to know Jinyoung in all the time they’ve spent together so far - knows the basics of her life story, her work, her likes and dislikes, which drama actress she thinks is the best looking and which singer she considers to be the most underrated. Jinyoung tells her all about whatever book she’s currently reading and which coworker has incurred her wrath with his incompetence.

Despite all that, JB feels like she doesn’t really know Jinyoung at all. Like Jinyoung is keeping her at a distance, careful not to let her delve too deep into her personal life, her thoughts and feelings.

JB bites her lip, her mind going down the same spiral it’s been on for the past week. They only met recently, and some people just take a while to open up. Jinyoung doesn’t owe her her innermost secrets, and it’s not like JB is constantly baring her soul, either. But it does feel like she’s giving more to Jinyoung than Jinyoung is ready to give in turn, and it leaves her feeling awkward and needy, too invested in something unstable and undefined, uncharted waters.

“Unnie?” JB is startled out of her thoughts by Youngjae’s concerned voice. There’s a worried look on her face to match it. “Is everything alright?”

Youngjae has always been perceptive of her moods, more so than anyone else, and she’s one of the most caring people JB’s ever met. Usually it’s a blessing, but right now she’s just not ready to talk about what’s bothering her.

“I’m okay,” she says quickly, trying for her best reassuring smile and probably failing, considering how Youngjae is still looking at her like she wants to give her a hug.

“No, really,” JB continues, grabbing Youngjae’s hand and pulling her along in a blatant evasive maneuver. “I’m fine, I’m just tired. Come on, let’s keep moving, it’s freezing out here.”

For a moment it looks like Youngjae isn’t going to let it go, but then she sighs and falls into step. “Fine, I guess. But you’d better buy me hot chocolate. With whipped cream. And sprinkles.”

“Alright, alright,” JB laughs. “You drive a hard bargain.”

Youngjae just smiles, self-satisfied, and steers them in the direction of her favourite cafe.

Maybe the worst part of it all is how comfortable it is. Jinyoung slots into JB's life like she was always meant to be there, and JB doesn't have to go out of her way to adjust to Jinyoung's presence. Even though they’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, it feels like they’ve been friends for ages. Just…friends who also have a lot of mind-blowing sex.

She’s been trying her best to just enjoy it and not overthink things, but the conversation with Youngjae is still on her mind a couple of days later. It nags at her all the way through after-work drinks with Jinyoung, only quieting down when they’re finally pressed close together in the empty hallway outside Jinyoung's apartment.

JB was only planning to drop Jinyoung off at home tonight because she has an important meeting early the next morning, but then she figured she should at least walk her up, and now here they are. One of JB's hands is braced against the front door, the other sliding restlessly up and down from Jinyoung's thigh to her ass and back again, and Jinyoung is making small noises against her lips that have JB running hot all over.

She almost chokes when Jinyoung lifts one leg to wrap it around her, pulling her in even closer. There’s insistent fingers at the back of her head, definitely making a mess of her hair, but JB couldn't care less. Jinyoung feels so good against her, soft and pliant, and JB’s hands are itching to just slide under her dress, fuck her right here and now because she loves how Jinyoung sounds with JB’s fingers inside her.

But it’s late and she needs to get going. So as much as she doesn’t want to, she slows her movements, gently pushing until Jinyoung has both feet back on the ground, and drops a last, sweet kiss on her neck.

“I’m really sorry,” she murmurs, right up against Jinyoung’s ear to make her shiver, “but I can’t stay tonight.”

"I know," Jinyoung says breathlessly. "You need to be boring and responsible. Friday?"

"Yeah," JB says automatically, and then, "Wait, no."

She shakes her head as if that could help clear her mind. It's just a bit difficult to concentrate when all she can see and feel and think about is Jinyoung, Jinyoung, Jinyoung.

"I can't, it's game night. It took us forever to settle on a date, I really shouldn't ditch."

“Oh,” Jinyoung says quietly, and she sounds so obviously disappointed that JB is kind of taken aback by it.

“I— I’m sorry, is there something special that night, or…” JB stumbles over her words, feeling awkward, but Jinyoung cuts her off with a shake of her head.

“No, it’s just—” Jinyoung averts her eyes, biting her lower lip. There’s a faint blush on her cheeks, but considering their heated make-out session just now it doesn’t seem unusual.

JB steps back a bit, no longer pressing Jinyoung into the door but still close enough to feel the heat of her body. She doesn’t quite know what to say, so she just waits until Jinyoung speaks up again.

“I was looking forward to seeing you again, that’s all.”

She honestly sounds kind of petulant, eyes still cast to the floor, and JB has a delirious moment in which she thinks that maybe this is what Yugyeom and BamBam refer to as _tsundere_.

“You could come,” she blurts out before she can even think about it, and that is enough for Jinyoung’s eyes to snap back to hers, the two of them staring at each other in equal surprise.

“I mean,” JB barges on, because it’s not like she can take it back now, “Only if you want to. But you could join us? I don’t know if you like board games and my friends are a bunch of idiots, but it’s fun, usually.”

She forces herself to stop talking then, cursing herself in her head because this is way too soon, they’ve only gone out a couple of times and JB can’t even bring herself to ask what they are to each other, and now she just goes and invites Jinyoung to meet what is basically her family? What was she thinking—

“Yes.”

JB blinks, uncomprehending. “What?”

“Yes,” Jinyoung repeats, even as she herself looks surprised by her answer. “That sounds…fun.”

She doesn’t sound particularly convinced, but before JB can even think to assure her that she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to, Jinyoung pulls her in for a chaste kiss.

“Text me the details, yeah?” Jinyoung says, and then she turns to unlock the door. “Good night, unnie.”

“Yeah,” JB mumbles, dazed, as she watches Jinyoung disappear into her apartment. “Good night.”

BamBam is wearing his favourite mini skirt, which means Yugyeom is going to be absolutely useless tonight. JB seethes, because Yugyeom is supposed to be on her team, and she hates losing.

"Let's adopt some baby gays, you said," she hisses at Jackson in passing. "It'll be fun, you said."

Jackson rolls his eyes. "How was I supposed to know they were the devil incarnate? They looked so cute!"

JB still isn't sure how exactly Jackson met Yugyeom and BamBam, but Jackson could make friends with a rock, so she hadn't even questioned it when they suddenly started hanging out with the rest of them. They are cute, most of the time. As long as they don't open their mouths.

“Noona, where’s Nora?” BamBam asks, and JB narrows her eyes at him.

“She’s hiding from all the noise. And you’re not allowed to go look for her,” she says sternly, pointing a finger at him in warning. “Your cat privileges have not been restored yet.”

“Oh come on, it wasn’t my fault,” BamBam whines. “Nora’s the one who tripped me, and she wasn’t even hurt!”

JB remains unsympathetic, waving him off as she goes to check on the food. “Sure thing, Bam. I still don’t care.”

“Fine,” BamBam huffs. “The moment we find an apartment that allows pets I’m going to get five cats and you’re not allowed to pet any of them.”

At that, Yugyeom looks up from where he’s setting up tonight’s game with Youngjae, a shit-eating grin on his face as he says, “Babe, are you really gonna keep noona from seeing her grandcats? That’s just cruel.”

“She’d probably break in while you’re out to give them treats,” Youngjae snickers, setting all of them off on a round of obnoxious laughter.

JB rolls her eyes and tunes out their squabbling, more than used to it by now. She’s known all of them for so long that she doesn’t even bother getting offended anymore. Well. For the most part. She tries not to let them rile her up, anyway.

Aside from how JB's friends give her shit all the time, they also have a tendency to get really overprotective. It's their dynamic, it's how they work, and sometimes it's a nice reminder that these are her people, her family, and they're looking out for her like she looks out for them.

Other times it's just really fucking annoying.

"I don't know," Jackson says for the upteenth time since JB told them she'd invited Jinyoung. "Are you sure about her? Your track record really isn't the best."

JB, who started ignoring him after about the fifth time he said as much, just clenches her teeth.

"I'm sure she's nice," Youngjae says with confidence, proving once again that she's JB's favourite. "I can't wait to meet her, unnie."

Jackson sighs dramatically, throwing himself half over Mari where she’s sitting on the couch, minding her own business. She doesn’t even look at him, just moves her arm to the backrest so it’s not trapped against her side by Jackson’s head.

“We’re like the kids from _The Sound of Music_,” Jackson whines.

JB blinks, bewildered. “The sound of what?”

Nobody else seems to be getting the reference either, except maybe Mari, but that doesn’t stop Jackson from continuing, “Our mother died and we’re all sad and shit, and now our strict, emotionally distant father brings along some woman to replace her.”

Mari looks up from her phone at last, frowning at her boyfriend. “Wait, who’s the governess in this analogy?”

Before Jackson can reply, Yugyeom gasps, clutching at BamBam and turning wide, accusing eyes on JB. “Our Mom died? You never told me!”

“I— What?” JB says, already fed up with the lot of them.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to your poor, innocent children, noona,” BamBam says with the worst attempt at a sad face JB has seen on anyone, ever.

Mari is apparently still busy criticizing Jackson’s reference, judgement dripping from her voice as she says, “Have you even seen the movie? Who would be the dead Mom? Her ex? Please,” and Youngjae is starting to get really confused, looking between all of them with alarm. “No seriously, what’s_ The Sound of Music_? Guys? Hey!”

Despite her best efforts, JB is really not the most patient of people. She tries, but there’s a headache building at her temples and she was already wound up about Jinyoung wanting to meet her friends before Jackson started in on his usual bullshit.

“Enough!” she snaps, loud enough that the room goes silent at once.

As if on cue, the doorbell rings.

JB takes a deep breath, steadying herself before she looks at everyone in turn. "Behave," is all she says, and then she goes to open the door.

She takes a moment to compose herself and tries to tamp down the nervous fluttering in her stomach, and then she comes face to face with Jinyoung. She’s flushed from the cold and buried in her big, stylish coat, a scarf drawn up almost up to her nose. JB can’t help but think it makes her look incredibly cute.

“Hey,” she says, stepping back so Jinyoung can come inside. “You made it.”

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Jinyoung says mildly, taking off her shoes and shrugging out of her coat, handing it to JB so she can hang it up. “Besides, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to actually see your place for once.”

“It’s really not that impressive,” JB says, distracted as she’s struggling with the already overflowing coat rack.

Behind her, Jinyoung is quiet for a moment, and then she says, “Unnie?”

“Yes?” JB says, turning to look over her shoulder at the incredulous tone in Jinyoung’ voice, but Jinyoung isn’t looking at her. She’s staring at the doorway to the living room, where JB’s friends have gathered to peer into the entryway like the obnoxious busybodies they are.

“Jinyoungie!” Mari says, joyful surprise lighting up her face. She pushes her way to the front, landing an elbow in Yugyeom’s side from the sound of it, and then she and Jinyoung are hugging while the rest of them look on in confusion.

“It’s been so long!” Jinyoung says once they separate. She sounds almost giddy, and so does Mari.

“Yeah, has it been five years already? It’s so good to see you!”

Beyond confused, JB clears her throat, awkwardly drawing their attention. “You guys know each other? Why didn’t you say anything?”

The last part is directed at Mari, who just arches her eyebrows and gives JB a look.

“Well, Jinyoung is not exactly the most unique name in the world,” she says. “And I had no idea Jinyoungie was even in town. She was my junior in university. But I thought you moved back home?”

Jinyoung nods, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She somehow looks younger when she’s talking to Mari, more open and expressive.

“Yeah, I went home after graduation, but they offered me a job at the Seoul branch a year ago and I decided to take it.”

“You should have called me up!” Mari says, but she doesn’t seem upset to JB. Keeping in contact with people just gets harder when you no longer have a reason to see them every day. It's a reality of life that they all have to deal with.

The conversation comes to a halt when Jackson has enough of being ignored and speaks up. “Hey, can we get our introductions now?” he says, ambling forward to stand next to Mari, peering at Jinyoung with unnecessary scrutiny. JB glares at him, but he pretends not to see it.

Jinyoung blinks at Jackson like she completely forgot there were other people in the apartment, instantly falling back into a more formal way of speaking.

“I’m sorry,” she says and bows, her hands clasped gently together in front of her. “My name is Park Jinyoung. It’s so nice to meet all of you.”

Jackson seems to be a bit taken aback by that display of politeness, so JB finally steps up and takes charge. She was so fascinated by Jinyoung’s change of demeanor while talking to Mari that she just kind of blanked out for a bit, but she has responsibilities as a host to take care of.

“This is Jackson,” she says, and Jinyoung glances back at her before nodding at Jackson with a small smile on her face. “My roommate. And a 94 liner, too.”

Next she points to the trio that’s still blocking the doorway. “Over there we have Youngjae, my junior from high school—" Youngjae waves, beaming, "And Yugyeom and BamBam. I don't know where Jackson got them from and by now it's definitely too late to return them."

"Noona!" Yugyeom says and pouts, but BamBam just flashes Jinyoung a peace sign.

"I like your skirt," she says, and BamBam preens at the compliment.

"And yeah, as you know, this is Mari," JB finishes, rolling her eyes when Jackson interjects, "My girlfriend!" with his usual breathless excitement, like he can't quite believe it himself, despite the fact that they've been together for literal years.

“Seriously though, what a coincidence,” Mari says, shaking her head in disbelief as Jinyoung laughs.

“The world is a small place.”

“Gay people,” BamBam says, trying for wise but mostly sounding self-important. ”We’re all connected.”

JB rolls her eyes at him, ushering everyone into the living room so they can stop crowding the entryway.

BamBam gets his validation only seconds later, however, when it turns out Jinyoung works in the same office as one of Jackson’s ex-boyfriends (with whom he’s still on good terms because, well, it’s_ Jackson_.)

BamBam shoots her a smug look. JB mentally adds another week to his cat penalty.

Predictably, and all previous theatrics aside, Jackson loves Jinyoung. JB isn’t sure if she should be relieved or afraid.

She’d been worried that tonight would be awkward, but Jinyoung and Mari’s surprise reunion breaks the ice, and as they get to know each other over their first bottles of soju, Jackson keeps sending JB thumbs ups and excited looks whenever Jinyoung isn’t watching.

“Stop it,” she mouths at him, but he just waggles his eyebrows at her and goes back to asking Jinyoung about her hometown.

Jinyoung looks thoroughly entertained by him, and JB is honestly a bit surprised by how easily the two of them seem to click. She keeps throwing glances at them even as she busies herself with setting up chairs for everyone. Apparently she’s being pretty obvious about it, because Mari puts a comforting hand on her shoulder as they pass by each other.

“Hey,” Mari says, her smile reassuring. “Relax. There’s no need to be so jumpy.”

JB takes a deep breath and nods, feeling ridiculous.

“Thank you,” she mumbles. Mari just waves her off and moves on.

Steadying herself against the back of one of the chairs, JB surveys their living room once again, a bit calmer this time.

Youngjae has successfully pushed herself into Jackson and Jinyoung’s conversation, looking excited and gesturing so expansively that she almost hits BamBam in the face — he and Yugyeom joining the rest of them in a loose circle.

Everyone seems to be getting on just fine. Better than fine, even. Jinyoung says something that has Yugyeom pouting and everyone else laughing, Jackson slapping her shoulder enthusiastically, and JB feels a bit less tense at the sight of it.

“Come on, people,” she calls out, loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. “Let’s get this game going.”

They follow suit soon enough, joining her at the table and settling in amid more chatter and laughter. Jinyoung lags behind a bit, hesitating until JB pulls out the chair next to her and motions Jinyoung over.

“Thanks,” Jinyoung says as she sits down, pitched low enough that only JB can hear it. JB throws her a quick smile, and then she starts handing out all necessary cards and game pieces along stern warnings of, “No cheating or I will fucking end you.”

It’s a game they’ve played before, and Jinyoung catches on quickly, Youngjae talking her through the rules and giving her pointers when needed. JB keeps getting distracted by the sight of the two of them huddled together over Jinyoung’s cards. It feels a bit like two worlds colliding, vaguely unreal, but at the same time Jinyoung fits in so well that you’d think she’d been with them for years.

JB leans back in her seat while Jackson and Yugyeom squabble over the dubious legality of one of their turns, looking around the table with something like satisfaction and taking in every one of her friends one by one.

She’s not sure what she was more worried about — everyone’s opinion of Jinyoung or Jinyoung’s opinion of everyone else — but clearly her fears were all for nothing. Still, she allows, it’s probably normal to feel this way, to seek approval and reassurance from the people you love and value more than anyone.

And then her gaze lands on Jinyoung, eyes bright as she joins the ongoing debate, and suddenly the only thing JB can hear is static.

This is the moment it hits her, surrounded by the most important people in her life, sitting at their crappy, too small dining table.

She tries to ground herself by tracing the familiar ridges of its surface, because maybe if she thinks about how Jackson bought it on sale for their very first apartment and has refused to get rid of it ever since, she won’t have to face the fact that, when she thinks of ‘the most important people in her life’, she already wants to include Jinyoung.

Jinyoung, who said she wanted to see JB and agreed to meet her friends and makes her breakfast when she stays over and touches her in gentle, reverent ways that make JB want to hold onto her for however long she’ll be allowed.

Jinyoung, whom she has known for all of two months and who keeps her at a distance and obviously, painfully, cares less about JB than JB cares about her.

“JB? It’s your turn.”

Jinyoung’s voice interrupts her spiraling thoughts, and JB jerks her head up to find everyone looking at her.

“Oh,” she says, hurriedly reaching for the dice. “Sorry.”

Jinyoung seems concerned, her brows furrowed as she reaches out one tentative hand to rest on JB’s thigh, but before she can say anything else, Jackson dramatic gasp draws her attention.

“You let her drop honorifics?” Jackson almost shrieks, pointing an accusatory finger at JB. In an instant, Mari and Youngjae are already laughing with the knowledge of the argument that is sure to follow, falling into each other from the force of their giggles.

JB blinks and looks at Jinyoung, because she honestly hadn’t noticed. Jinyoung seems surprised as well, one hand flying up to her mouth.

“I’m sorry, unnie, I didn’t realize—” she starts, but JB just waves her off.

“It’s cool, I don’t mind. You can just call me JB.”

That draws another scandalized sound from Jackson.

“She made me call her noona for two years!” Jackson complains loudly to a very confused Jinyoung. “Even though we were born in the same year!”

Mari and Youngjae laugh even harder at that, and Yugyeom and BamBam are watching the scene unfold with shit-eating grins while they shovel snacks into their mouths.

“Here we go again,” Yugyeom says to no one in particular, muffled by a handful of chips.

“I have an early birthday,” JB defends herself, barely able to hold back her own laughter.

It’s an argument they’ve had many times, to everyone’s amusement, and Jackson knows he isn’t going to win it. He whines, defeated, sinking back into his chair.

“You’re only two months older than me! By that logic Jinyoung should be calling me oppa.”

“I’d rather not,” Jinyoung says dryly, sending the whole table into another round of hysterics.

Jackson barely manages to hold onto his kicked-puppy expression, but he's nothing if not committed to this well-rehearsed act.

“It’s not fair,” he says, clutching at Mari's arm, “why does Jinyoung get to skip honorifics so soon when I had to wait forever?”

Not a single one of them is prepared for Mari to turn to look at him and say, “Well, you weren’t sleeping with her.”

JB lets her head fall onto the table with a groan, barely registering the undignified snort Jinyoung lets out next to her. Youngjae, meanwhile, almost falls off her chair from laughing, gasping for air.

“Ew, gross,” Jackson fake-gags and swats at Mari’s arm as she leans over him to exchange high-fives with Yugyeom and BamBam. “I don’t wanna think about my parents like that.”

Jinyoung waits for everyone to calm down a bit before she tilts her head and says, “Parents?”

“Don’t,” JB groans, but Jackson is already talking over her.

“Yeah man, JB is like, our strict, emotionally distant single father, and we’re her gaggle of rebellious but musically inclined kids that she’s trying to raise in the German alps.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s Austria?” Mari says, getting drowned out by Yugyeom’s cheerful shout of, “And our Mom died!”

JB is honestly a bit concerned about how into this whole concept Jackson appears to be, deciding she’d better shut it down soon before she never hears the end of it. But then, to her absolute horror, Jinyoung says, "What, like _The Sound of Music_?"

There's a moment of silence where everyone stares at her in disbelief before Jackson breaks out into screams of vindication.

"Dude, I love you!" he tells Jinyoung, leaning over the table and tugging her into an exuberant hug, completely upending their game in the process.

Among the resulting screaming and chaos, JB gives up and just lets herself laugh, soaking in the joy and the warmth of the moment.

Still, despite everything, JB can’t seem to stop the anxious thoughts in her head entirely. They remain at the edge of her consciousness and it’s frustrating her to no end how she can’t just let go of them for one goddamn evening. Everyone is getting along so well, she really doesn’t want to ruin it with her self-centered insecurities.

So she grits her teeth and smiles and tries. And if Jackson is giving her weird looks, she’s well-versed in ignoring him.

The clock is already approaching 1 AM when they decide to call it a night and send the kids home, but Youngjae takes the opportunity to turn to Jinyoung with a sleepy smile as she gathers her things.

"You're so sweet, unnie," she says, "And so pretty. I'm really glad JB-unnie met you. Please take care of her, yeah?"

Jinyoung stares at her with an intensity that is frankly kind of unsettling before she says, "I'm adopting you."

"Okay, that's enough," JB cuts in loudly, herding Youngjae towards the door where Yugyeom and BamBam are already bundled up in their big coats and ready to go. "Bye Youngjae-yah. Bye, devil spawn."

"Love you, noona!" Yugyeom calls over his shoulder, and BamBam dabs in her general direction as they make their way outside. JB sighs, but it's more fond than anything.

She stays in the entryway for a moment, so lost in thought that she jumps when someone lightly touches her shoulder, whirling around and startling Jinyoung in turn. Her hand stays on JB’s arm though, sliding down until it rests on her elbow.

“Are you okay?” Jinyoung says, and JB bristles at that.

“It’s nothing,” she says, stepping back and out of reach.

Jinyoung lets out an exasperated sigh, raising an eyebrow and fixing her with a look that clearly says she doesn’t believe a word JB is saying.

“Please. You’ve been tense all night.”

“Jinyoung, drop it,” JB says, tight and restrained.

“Is it my fault?” Jinyoung asks, and she’s not even listening to JB anymore, seemingly absorbed in her own train of thought. Her body language is closed off, her arms hugged tightly around herself, and maybe if JB hadn’t been so distracted this entire night, she would have noticed the tell-tale signs of Jinyoung’s own nervousness.

“Did I do something wrong? The least you could do is be honest with me. Do you really think I can’t tell when something upsets you?”

“You don’t even know me!” JB snaps, bitter and harsh and loud enough that Jinyoung flinches back. “So don’t act like it.”

For a long moment they just stare at each other, frozen in place, and JB can feel instant regret flooding her chest at the hurt look in Jinyoung’s wide eyes. Fuck. She’s way too worked up, overwhelmed by her own emotions, but that’s no excuse for taking it out on Jinyoung.

“Jinyoung-ah,” she starts, careful and quiet, but Jinyoung’s expression is closing off, her chin high, her shoulders squared.

“I’m going home,” she says in a clipped tone of voice JB has never heard from her before.

“Jinyoung, wait—,” she starts, but Jinyoung grabs her purse and her coat and is out the door in an instant, slamming it shut behind her and leaving JB to stand in the entryway, hand outstretched and feeling like a giant fuck-up.

Stunned, she just stares at the door in silence, only to be startled out of it when Jackson awkwardly clears his throat behind her.

“Uhm. What the hell was that?”

JB turns to him, helpless, and for a second she feels like crumbling.

“I,” she starts, her throat feeling tight, “I think I messed up.”

Jackson doesn’t hesitate. He’s by her side in an instant, throwing a casual arm over her shoulder and leading her back into the living room.

“It’s okay,” he says with so much conviction that she can’t even think of doubting him. “Whatever it is, we’re gonna fix it.”

It's moments like this, more than anything, that make her grateful to have Jackson as her friend. There’s few people she can stand to see her in a state like this, and somehow, ever since they found their way into each other’s lives years ago, he’s been one of them.

“Sit,” he orders, dragging JB down onto the couch with him.

She sinks into the worn-out fabric and takes a deep breath, glad that Youngjae and the kids weren’t there to see the fight. She’s still reeling from how quickly everything went to shit when they’d all been having a great time just minutes earlier.

Mari wanders over from the kitchen, where she and Jackson must’ve been busy cleaning up after all of them. She doesn’t say a word, but her expression is carefully constrained. JB isn’t sure if she heard everything that happened or if Jackson let her know through some sort of weird telepathy. Who can even tell with those two, really.

"Alright," Jackson says, "You wanna tell us what that was about?"

"Not really," JB says, grimacing.

Jackson and Mari just wait, expectantly. The silence grates on JB's nerves, and she knows she's going to break, and Jackson and Mari definitely also know she's going to break, so there's really no use drawing it out.

JB sighs. "I don't know. I guess I've just. Been on edge lately."

"Are we talking work stress and the general existential dread of being an adult, or a more Jinyoung specific sort of edge?" Jackson asks. "Because you don't usually lash out at people like that when it's the first one."

JB thinks, rather uncharitably, that Jackson needs to stop asking questions he obviously already knows the answers to.

“It’s Jinyoung-related,” she hedges. “I guess.”

Jackson frowns. “I knew you seemed a bit off all night. Am I going to have to fight your girlfriend? I could probably take her, but then Mari would be mad at me and also _Youngjae_ would be mad at me, and I’m not sure if that’s something I’m willing to face, even if it’s for you.”

“We’re not—” JB interrupts him, “Jinyoung and I aren’t really. You know. Like _that_.”

“Fighting?” Jackson asks.

“Girlfriends,” Mari says, like she’s come to a revelation. One she doesn’t particularly care for, but a revelation nonetheless.

Jackson looks between Mari and JB, and when JB doesn’t deny it, his eyes widen almost comically.

"What? You've been going out for weeks now!" he says, incredulous.

"We've been going out, yeah, but I don't know if it's, y'know. _Going out_."

JB pulls at the strings of her hoodie, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"JB, I swear to— " Jackson starts, but Mari wedges herself in between them, almost shoving him off the couch.

"Hey!" he complains, but Mari just ignores him.

"So. You're not sure if you guys are dating," she says, voice calm and measured in a way that instantly puts JB at ease, makes her relax into a less defensive posture.

“I mean,” JB mumbles, feeling ridiculous, “We’ve never called it that.”

“But?” Mari prompts.

JB groans and lets her head fall back until she’s looking at the ceiling, neck bent at an uncomfortable angle.

“I like Jinyoung,” she finally grits out. “I like her a lot. But this is happening way too fast and I barely know her and she just— I am so much more invested in whatever this is, and it’s— It’s hard. To deal with that knowledge. Because I want to be okay with whatever she’s willing to give me. But I’m not.”

She rubs her hands over her face in a rough motion, squeezing her eyes shut. She never cries, and she’s not going to start now, damn it.

Mari gives her a moment before she says, “Okay. Here’s what I’m getting from this. You want to be together with her? You want her to be your girlfriend?”

JB lets her head fall forward again, nodding mutely.

“But Jinyoung isn’t interested in you the same way? What does she want, then?”

“I thought this was maybe some kind of…friends-with-benefits situation, but then that doesn’t really feel right, either. So I don’t know. I don’t know what she wants.”

“Have you asked her about it?” Mari says, still infuriatingly calm, and JB grits her teeth.

The thing is, it’s not like she doesn’t know what the obvious solution is here. She knows she’s supposed to talk to Jinyoung, she’s supposed to communicate what she wants, but just because you know what you should be doing, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can actually do it.

“No,” she admits. “I haven’t. It’s just the impression I got. And I’m aware that I have no right to get upset with her over this. It’s stupid. I know it’s stupid, you don’t have to tell me— “

“Hey,” Jackson interrupts her, and only then does she realize she’s been raising her voice. She takes a deep breath, and then another, blunt fingernails digging into the palms of her hands.

Jackson is uncharacteristically serious as he fixes her with a stare. “It’s not stupid. You feel like she doesn’t care about you as much as you do about her, and that shit hurts. Sometimes you just need to vent. That’s what we’re here for.”

He gets up to settle on her other side so she’s sandwiched in between him and Mari, pressing their shoulders together. JB pulls a face but doesn’t protest. Maybe the proximity is kind of nice, actually. Just this once.

“Putting it into words can help you sort it out,” Jackson says, because he might be loud and annoying and a pain in JB’s ass, but he gives good advice anyway. “And once you figure it out for yourself you can move on and talk it out with Jinyoung.”

Mari hums in agreement. She looks contemplative, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers. “It’s been a couple of years, but I knew Jinyoung pretty well when we went to university. She may come across as kind of distant, but I saw her today, with you. I don’t think she’s just in it for sex, or whatever.” Mari smiles then, a bit teasing. “You’re kind of alike, I think. You both can’t get out of your heads and talk about what you’re feeling. You’d rather keep it all in and worry yourself to death.”

JB glares at her, but Mari ignores it with practiced ease, patting her on the shoulder. “Jinyoung might not show it like you expect her to, but if you ask me, I’m pretty sure she likes you.”

“Like, really likes you,” Jackson says emphatically. “Do you really think she’d put up with the kids if she wasn’t eyeing the long term?”

“Put up with you, you mean,” JB says, which is a weak comeback, but she has too much to think about to come up with a good burn right now.

Jackson knows it, too, so he doesn’t comment on it. “Come on, man. You gonna call her or what?”

JB grimaces. “I don’t know if she’d pick up,” she says.

“Jinyoung can be kind of petty,” Mari agrees, unconcerned. “Probably for the best if you go see her in person.”

“What, right now?” JB asks, unsettled. This is all kind of sudden, she’s not sure if she’s ready. Scratch that, she’s most definitely not ready.

“You’re not gonna get any sleep if you leave it like this,” Jackson says, because he knows her too well. “If she doesn’t wanna see you then there’s nothing you can do about it, but at least you’ll have tried.”

JB considers it for a moment. Maybe she should try to sleep on it, face Jinyoung once they’ve both cooled down a bit, but there’s a restless feeling inside her that urges her to do something, anything. And maybe that’s exactly the push she needs to get out everything she wants to say to Jinyoung, before she starts doubting herself again.

She stands abruptly, determination pushing her forward. “I’ll go,” she says, and she’s already almost out of the door when she turns back to her friends. “Thank you,” she says, quiet and sheepish, but she means it.

Mari waves her off, and all Jackson says is, “Good luck,” a big, fond smile on his face. He’s kind enough to save the smug looks for another day.

Predictably, JB’s call goes to voicemail. She sends Jinyoung a text to let her know she’s coming over, but there’s no reply, just the check mark indicating she saw the message — which JB supposes is an answer in its own right.

Jackson lets her borrow his car without the requisite grumbling, so it doesn’t take her that long to get to Jinyoung’s apartment building. Still, she spends the entire time thinking about turning back, right up until she’s ringing the doorbell.

There’s a long moment where nothing happens. The silence rings in JB’s ears, and the flickering hallway light is blinding after the darkness of the night outside, making her eye twitch. She can feel a headache coming with every second she stands there. With a heavy sigh, she lets her head drop against the door, trying to decide on a course of action.

She knows the door code, but she would never enter the apartment without Jinyoung’s express permission. Obviously this was a stupid idea. She never should have listened to Jackson, should have just stayed home and given Jinyoung space and maybe called her in the morning once they’ve both had time to calm down.

“Alright,” she mutters to herself, ready to give up and go home, but then a sudden sound startles her out of her thoughts. It sounds like someone knocked something over on the other side of the door, and JB blinks in confusion from where she’s still resting against it.

“Jinyoung-ah?” she calls out. The sound of muffled cursing that follows almost draws a laugh out of her.

“Jinyoung-ah, I’m sorry,” she says, raising her voice a bit. “I’ll leave now. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Or you can call me whenever. Sleep well—”

Before she can finish, the door suddenly opens inwards, taking her balance with it. JB stumbles and yelps, barely able to catch herself on the doorframe before she falls right into Jinyoung where she stands in the entryway.

“Don’t!” Jinyoung says, voice high and eyes wide.

“Don’t what?” JB asks, taken aback.

Jinyoung pushes her long hair back with one hand, looking strangely frazzled. “Don’t go. Come in. Please.”

JB hesitates, unsure of her welcome, but in the end she steps over the threshold and follows Jinyoung inside. There’s an umbrella lying in her path that she remembers leaning against the wall on previous visits — the source of the noise she heard, presumably — but Jinyoung ignores it, so JB does, too.

Jinyoung is still in the same clothes as earlier, effortlessly stylish as usual, but now she’s pulling at the sleeves of her sweater like she’s uncomfortable, fussing with the collar of it, smoothing down her skirt.

JB averts her eyes, looking around the familiar, dimly lit apartment. Her head hurts, and she’s tired, and the atmosphere is unbearably awkward with the two of them standing half a room apart.

After another moment it becomes clear that Jinyoung isn’t going to speak first, so JB takes a deep breath, straightens her back and says, “I’m sorry.”

The words hang between them, and JB almost falters at Jinyoung’s lack of reaction, the way her arms are crossed as she hunches in on herself, her mouth a thin, unhappy line. But she pushes on.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you. That was really out of line. I know it’s not an excuse, but I’ve been kind of stressed lately, and I guess you hit a nerve. I mean, it’s not your fault, obviously,” she adds hastily when Jinyoung’s frown deepens. “I just wanted to apologize.”

“Yes, well,” Jinyoung says, shifting on her feet. “I suppose I also kind of overreacted. A little bit. So.”

JB breathes a small sigh of relief, some of the tension leaving her body as she takes a tentative step closer to Jinyoung. But there’s still another topic of conversation looming over her, one that she isn’t quite sure how to broach. She bites her lip and discards three opening sentences before Jinyoung speaks up instead.

“I was nervous,” she says, and looks resentful of the words the moment they leave her mouth, “Really nervous. About tonight. Meeting your friends.”

JB frowns, confused. “You were? Why?”

The look Jinyoung gives her at that is incredibly exasperated. “Because they’re _your friends_, all of whom I was meeting for the first time and needed to impress so they would like me. I was freaking out about it all week!”

“That’s...you didn’t need to impress them.”

“Yes, I did!” Jinyoung bristles. She rubs her hands over her face and sighs, hesitating for a moment before she goes on. “Look, it’s been a year since I moved back here, and I don’t regret it, but I’ve been so busy catching up at work that I just. Haven’t had the time or the energy to go out and meet people. I barely know anyone around here anymore, except a couple co-workers. That’s why I agreed when one of them asked me to go on a date with Jae-unnie, you know?”

Jinyoung looks tired. Really tired, and embarrassed, and JB thinks she kind of gets it now.

“So that’s why I was happy that you invited me to meet everyone,” Jinyoung says, “But also terrified of ruining it. And then you were being _weird_ and wouldn’t talk to me.”

Jinyoung’s words put the entire evening in a different light, and JB winces, cursing herself for being oblivious.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, uncomfortably aware that it’s the most hypocritical thing she’s said all night.

“Because you have your life together and you’re— you’re all cool and collected,” Jinyoung says, sounding small and petulant. “How was I supposed to tell you?”

JB raises her eyebrows in barely concealed shock. “Babe,” she says, the endearment coming out unbidden, “I’m a fucking mess.”

She really is, is the thing. She’s been on the edge of breaking down for at least two weeks running, if not half of her entire life, and the realization that Jinyoung was under the impression that JB is some sort of shining beacon of socially fulfilled adulthood throws her for such a loop that she’s dizzy with it.

“Listen,” she says, “I wouldn’t even know half the people I do if not for the fact that I’m roommates with Jackson. And I’m not— I’m not sure why you think I have my shit together because I really do not. Most days I barely remember to eat lunch because I’m holed up in the studio, and I still don’t really know how taxes work, and my grandma keeps complaining that I never visit her anymore, and I can’t even get it together long enough to ask you what the hell we are!”

She didn’t really mean to let her frustration get the best of her like that, and once her brain catches up with her mouth she freezes, her heart hammering in her throat. Well, fuck.

“You what,” Jinyoung says, slow and deliberate. “Why would you need to ask that?”

Her gaze is intent, unwavering, and JB almost flinches back from it as she fumbles for what to say next.

“Well, I thought maybe you wanted this to be a friends-with-benefits kind of deal? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but to be honest I…” she falters then, watching in alarm as Jinyoung’s face goes on an entire journey of emotions. There’s really no better way to describe it, and in any other situation she would be fascinated by it, but right now she’s leaning more towards terrified.

For a long moment Jinyoung just gapes at her, and then her mortified screech of, “Unnie!” almost has JB jumping straight in the air. “Why would you think that!”

“I mean,” JB says weakly, her hands raised in a placating gesture. “It just. It just feels like you only ever call me over for sex?”

She grimaces as soon as the words are out, barely able to look at Jinyoung.

“What?” Jinyoung sputters, sounding genuinely affronted.

JB raises a meaningful eyebrow. “I mean...” she trails off, recalling all the nights she’s spent in Jinyoung’s company over the past weeks.

From the looks of it, Jinyoung is doing the same. Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times like she’s desperately searching for a retort. She’s blushing, red up to her ears.

Finally, she settles on, “Well, it’s not my fault you’re so stupidly fucking hot!”

JB is left speechless at that, blinking at Jinyoung as the words echo in her head.

“What?” she gets out eventually, her voice cracking.

Jinyoung blushes even harder, but she crosses her arms in front of her chest and goes on, determined.

“You heard me,” she bites out. “You’re really hot and you’re really good with…” — here, she gestures vaguely up and down JB’s body — “all that, so of course I like having sex with you. But that’s not— That’s not the only reason I want to spend time with you.”

“Oh,” JB says.

Jinyoung doesn’t even seem to hear her, pacing back and forth as if she can’t contain the nervous energy any longer. It takes her a moment to speak again.

“I—The thing is that— I mean—” she stops and starts haltingly, visibly growing more and more frustrated.

JB doesn’t even really think about it. She takes two steps to get closer to Jinyoung, reaching out to lay one hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder to stop her pacing, and then she blurts out, “Jinyoung, I really, really like you. And I want you to be my girlfriend.”

It feels good. It feels so good to say it. She can feel the blood pounding in her ears, but it’s accompanied by an overwhelming sense of relief. The words are out in the open now and she can stop carrying them on the tip of her tongue, waiting and waiting for the perfect moment to spill. Because the one perfect moment doesn’t exist and never will. All she needed to do was get over herself and say it. All she needs to do now is wait for Jinyoung’s answer.

Jinyoung stills in her tracks, facing JB with big eyes and ever so slightly parted lips. Her make-up is a bit smudged at the edges, her lips a bit chapped from a long day of wearing lipstick, and JB really wants to lean in and kiss the last flecks of red off of them.

But then Jinyoung frowns and hits her on the arm, and JB startles out of it, back to being alarmed.

“I like you too, you idiot! I was working up to it,” Jinyoung says indignantly, her cheeks flushing pink as she throws her arms around JB with enough force to knock the breath out of her. JB steadies them on instinct, drawing her arms around Jinyoung’s waist and pulling her in tight.

“And I thought I already was your girlfriend,” Jinyoung continues, muffled against JB’s shirt.

“Oh,” is all JB can say to that, full of awe. Jinyoung’s words spark warmth within her, spreading out from her chest to every part of her body. Her heart is pounding as she buries her nose in Jinyoung’s hair, inhaling the by now familiar scent of her shampoo.

She feels elated and relieved. She also feels kind of terribly embarrassed.

“Wanna go cuddle?” JB asks sheepishly.

Jinyoung’s face stays pressed into the side of her neck for a moment before she finally says, “Yes,” quiet but defiant. She steps back to grab JB’s hand, tugging her along to the bedroom and pushing her down on the bed. Jinyoung arranges their limbs to her liking and tucks herself neatly into JB’s side with a small, pleased noise. It’s weirdly reminiscent of Nora, but JB bites her tongue before she compares Jinyoung — her girlfriend — to her cat.

She can’t really bring herself to look Jinyoung in the eye for a while as she tries to calm down, leftover adrenaline keeping her wide awake even as exhaustion moves in, making her feel sore and heavy. The alarm clock on Jinyoung’s bedside table tells her it’s almost 3 AM, and she spares a moment to be grateful that she doesn’t have to go into work tomorrow morning as she reaches out to card her fingers through Jinyoung’s hair in slow, even movements.

“I really am sorry,” she says eventually, keeping her voice low. She doesn't want to disturb the atmosphere that seems to have settled over them, soft and fragile.

There’s no answer, and for a second JB thinks Jinyoung might have fallen asleep, but then she huffs out a sigh and pushes herself up on her elbows, hovering over JB. A curtain of hair falls forward, and when JB pushes it behind her ear, Jinyoung’s smile of thanks is beautiful in the faint light of the bedside lamp.

“I forgive you,” Jinyoung declares magnanimously, and smirks when JB narrows her eyes in response.

“I guess I could have been a lot clearer about things, too,” she adds, reaching out one hand to let tentative fingertips trail over JB’s cheekbones, the slope of her nose, the curve of her mouth.

“I’m just glad we worked it out,” JB says, and then considers, “I’ll have to buy Mari and Jackson dinner for talking some sense into me. They told me to go after you.”

Jinyoung nods in understanding. “Let’s make it a double date, then.”

“Sure,” JB says. She thinks that, in this moment, no matter what Jinyoung asked of her, JB would do everything in her power to make it happen.

She closes her eyes, enjoying Jinyoung’s touch and the way they’re pressed together, the soft sheets beneath her, the quiet sound of their breathing the only thing she can hear until Jinyoung breaks the silence once again.

"I’m glad I asked Jae-unnie for your number," she says quietly, tracing across JB's eyebrow, dotting the moles above her eye like an afterthought. "And that you said yes. And that you invited me tonight. It was nice to meet everyone."

JB hums in agreement. She gets the feeling that Jinyoung is trying to come across as nonchalant, unbothered, but her sincerity is still obvious. Or maybe JB has just gotten better at reading her.

"They can be a lot sometimes, but, you know. They're family,” she says.

“Hmm. They really look up to you, don’t they.”

JB can’t help but laugh at that, surprised. “What gave you that idea? They way they talked back to me all night?”

“I didn’t mean that they’re intimidated by you,” Jinyoung says with a roll of her eyes, and if JB thinks of the blissful first week when Yugyeom was still scared of her, she keeps it to herself. It’s not like she actually want to go back to that.

“Maybe they don’t hang onto your every word, but they look to you when decisions need to be made. There’s a lot of trust there.”

Jinyoung trails off when she notices the way JB is staring at her, and she flushes a bit, shifting until she can rest her head on JB’s shoulder again. “Just saying,” she mutters, and JB lets it go, reaching out to pat the top of Jinyoung’s head.

“They were so excited to meet you,” JB says, “Youngjae especially. And Jackson. Don’t let him tell you otherwise."

“Hmmm. I like him,” Jinyoung says decisively, and then laughs at JB when she groans.

“You wouldn’t be living with him if you didn’t feel the same way, so don’t even pretend,” she says, poking JB in the side.

“Yeah, yeah,” JB says, catching Jinyoung’s hand and pulling it up to her mouth so she can drop soft kisses on her knuckles.

“They all loved you, Jinyoung-ah. So you don’t have to worry anymore, alright?” she says, and Jinyoung’s expression softens, shy but pleased, her eyes never leaving JB’s.

“And you?” she asks, and the words would barely be audible if the two of them weren’t so close.

JB’s heart feels full, close to bursting with warmth and joy and feelings that she maybe isn’t quite ready to speak out loud just yet — but it’s okay. She’ll get there in the end.

JB just smiles and pushes Jinyoung’s hair back behind her ear. And then she closes the last bit of distance between them and presses a kiss against Jinyoung’s lips, sweet and unhurried with the knowledge of many, many more to come.

"Good Morning," JB says, stepping into the studio on Monday and dropping off her messenger bag.

Brianna turns to look at her, and then just kind of keeps staring, until it makes JB uncomfortable enough to ask, "What?"

Brianna grins a suspiciously knowing grin and shakes her head. "Nothing, really. You just look happy. Had a good weekend?”

“I— “ JB can feel the heat in her cheeks and ducks her head, fiddling with the buttons of her shirt in embarrassment. “I, uh, yeah. I had a good couple of days. With my girlfriend.”

She’s blushing even harder now as Brianna coos at her, but it feels good to say it, finally. _Her girlfriend_.

“I haven’t seen you like this since that time Suga-sunbaenim complimented your work,” Brianna cackles, ducking out of the way when JB raises a half-hearted fist in her direction.

“Oh, fuck off,” JB says, but there’s no heat behind it.

Brianna settles down then, her expression fond.

“Seriously, though. I’m happy for you.”

JB takes a deep breath as she drops into her chair and doesn’t fight the smile that’s taking over her face, wide and unconstrained.

“Yeah,” she says, softly. “I am, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have never seen The Sound of Music (it's not a thing over here) and judging by his grasp of the plot Jackson hasn't, either. Mari probably sat him down to watch it after JB left.
> 
> I started this fic over a year ago on a whim and with absolutely no idea what the plot was going to be. JJP were supposed to be the functional lesbians of this disaster-functional-distinguished trilogy, but somehow they ended up being bigger disasters than jaebri,,, That's what you get when you project your issues on your main characters, I suppose.
> 
> This fic (and this entire series) is honestly very important to me, and I'm so, so happy that I managed to finish it. I have no concrete plans to write more in this universe, even though there's some interesting connections and headcanons I couldn't fit into any of the main stories, like Yoonji meeting and adopting Dowoon. So who knows, maybe I'll return to it eventually.
> 
> For now I just want to thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it, and If you'd like, you can find me on twitter at [@the24thkey](https://twitter.com/the24thkey)


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